John Ballard attains doctorate

Moberly Regional Medical Center's Assistant CEO, John Ballard, recently earned his doctoral degree in public health and epidemiology from Walden University in Minneapolis, MN.

Ballard holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Louisiana State University and a master's in Business Administration from Alcorn State University in Mississippi.

Epidemiology is the study of the causes of disease. The underlying theory is that every disease, no matter the type, has an underlying cause. Epidemiologists use statistics and data analysis to help spot trends and identify outbreaks. This specialization dovetailed nicely with his computer science degree.

"My inspiration for the degree came from wanting to be able to communicate with doctors and nurses more effectively," explained Ballard.

"The inspiration for my dissertation, which was about finding a way to increase colorectal cancer screening, came from my grandfather, who died of colorectal cancer when I was 11. Colorectal cancer treatment is extremely effective when the disease is caught early; however, because screening rates are so low, only 39% of colorectal cancer is caught at the early stages. My experiment showed another, previously untried way to encourage people to get screened," Ballard said.

"This was a 5-year journey: three years of classes and two years to write the dissertation," he said.

MRMC congratulates Ballard on this momentous accomplishment and is grateful for his service to our healthcare community. He has been integral to multiple process improvements at the hospital since his arrival in January 2012.